Rep. David Taylor Purchases Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Representative David Taylor (R-Ohio) recently bought shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR). In a filing disclosed on April 03rd, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Kroger stock on February 20th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “DAVID TAYLOR TRUST > SCHWAB JOINT BROKERAGE #1 (HOME GROWN)” account.

Representative David Taylor also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) on 3/27/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) on 3/10/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) on 3/10/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) on 3/10/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) on 3/10/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) on 3/10/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) on 2/20/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) on 2/10/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) on 2/10/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Installed Building Products (NYSE:IBP) on 2/5/2025.

Kroger Stock Down 5.2 %

KR opened at $67.05 on Friday. The Kroger Co. has a 1-year low of $49.04 and a 1-year high of $71.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average of $60.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Timothy A. Massa sold 29,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $1,967,114.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 103,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,861,803.52. This represents a 22.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,131.04. The trade was a 45.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 228,785 shares of company stock valued at $15,393,666 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on KR shares. Melius lowered Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.50.

Institutional Trading of Kroger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Kroger by 10.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in Kroger by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 26,639 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Kroger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $456,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kroger by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 217,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,449,000 after buying an additional 9,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Taylor

David Taylor (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Taylor (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

David Taylor graduated from Amelia High School. Taylor earned degrees from Miami University (Ohio) and the University of Dayton School of Law. Taylor’s career experience includes working as an attorney and as a businessman at Sardinia Ready Mix, Inc.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.